The present invention relates to a container device for collecting urine, which comprises a flexible container arranged to receive the urine and a superabsorbent powder enclosed in said flexible container and arranged to make the urine congeal.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,116 such a container device is previously known. A liquid absorbing means is in this case enclosed in a bag of a paper or fabric material in a flexible container having a mouthpiece. When the urine flows down in the flexible container and reaches the bag it penetrates the bag material with the result that the liquid absorbing material swells and the bag is brooken. The disadvantage with such bags is that they not are absolutely tight and a fine granulated superabsorbent powder may in a dry state leak through such a bag material and be diffused in the flexible container. Another disadvantage with the container device according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,116 is that the mouthpiece and the flexible container are manufactured in one piece. Thereby, the container device is relatively large to carry around, expensive to manufacture and constitutes an unnecessarily great strain on the environment because the whole container device is thrown away after use.
From EP 0 494 599 a superabsorbent composition is known which is arranged to make body fluids congeal, for example blood received from surgical operations. The superabsorbent composition comprises a superabsorbent powder having a grain size of 5 mm, which is enclosed in a bag of a water-soluble film, which may comprise polyvinyl alcohol. In this document, nothing is mentioned about the use of this super absorbing composition in order to congeal urine and especially not by means of a container device of the kind initially mentioned.
From the Swedish patent application 9703796-4 a container device for collecting urine is known, which comprises a funnel and a bag releasably connected to the funnel and arranged to receive the urine. After the bag is filled with urine, it is thrown away and a new bag may be connected to the funnel. The disadvantage with this container device is that a bag filled with urine is very difficult to handle and the risk is great that urine splashes out of the bag. Furthermore, said funnel takes up a relatively large space and is thereby cumbersome to carry around.
On the market there are also a plurality of different types of flexible bags for collecting urine but these have also the disadvantage that the urine easily is splashed out during the handling of the bags.
The object of the present invention is to provide a container device for collecting urine, which above all is easy to handle, also for handicapped persons, without the urine splashing out of the flexible container. Other objects are that it should be easy carry around, inexpensive to manufacture and harmless to the environment.
The object is achieved by the initially mentioned container device, which is characterised in that said superabsorbent powder is enclosed, in the flexible container, in a package manufactured in a urine soluble material. Thereby is obtained that the powder in a dry state is safely kept in the package without the risk that it diffused in the flexible container. Furthermore, by a suitable choice of material and thickness of the material, such a package may be, so quickly soluble in the urine that the superabsorbent powder with only a small time delay may be dispersed in the urine and made it congeal to a gelatinous mass. Thereby, is in an effective way prevented that the urine splashes out of the bag during its handling. The total time to make 500 ml of urine congeal may not exceed 70 sec, which is the time for a normal emptying of a normal volume of urine. Consequently, during a normal emptying, the urine has congealed when the emptying time is over.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, said package is at least partly manufactured of polyvinyl alcohol. Polyvinyl alcohol is a material which is essentially completely tight, at least concerning said superabsorbent powder, at the same time as it is highly soluble in urine. In order to obtain the congealing time mentioned above, the polyvinyl alcohol may have a thickness of material of between 15-60 xcexcm. Consequently, the thickness of the material ought not to exceed 60 xcexcm because in that case it takes too long time for the urine to dissolve the material and preferably not be below 15 xcexcm because in that case the material risks to be destroyed during a somewhat careless handling. In order to obtain an extremely quick congealing time of the urine the superabsorbent powder may be in granulate form and have an average grain size of 200 xcexcm or less. By such a grain size, the amount of the superabsorbent powder may be reduced and thereby also the size of the package.
According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, it comprises a holding member, which is releasably connectable to the flexible container. Thereby, the use of the container device by women is facilitated. By a holding member, it is possible to hold an opening of the flexible container steadily in a position suitable for the emptying of urine. After use, the flexible container may be released from the holding member in order to be thrown away while the holding member may be saved. Thereafter, the holding member may be re-used with a new flexible package. For a user, this means that a holding member only needs to be procured at a first shopping occasion and thereafter one only needs to buy flexible containers containing a package of the superabsorbent powder. Thereby, the product is cheaper per time of use and the environment is not strained by unnecessary single use material. Furthermore, a holding member which may be used a plurality of times may be more sumptuous, and may for example be formed more form-fit and in a more solid material, than if it where of single use type. In order to connect the flexible container releasably to the holding member, the portion of the flexible container, which comprises an opening, may be passed through a passage in the holding member. Thereafter, the side portions of the flexible container, which are located around the opening of the flexible container, are folded down around an upper edge at the entrance of the passage of the holding member. In many cases, such a connection between the flexible container and the holding member may be completely sufficient to guarantee that the flexible container does not come loose from the holding member during the use of the container device. Alternatively, the holding member may comprise means arranged to enable a releasable connection between the flexible container and the holding member. Such means may be a hole provided in the holding member, which is arranged to receive a portion of the flexible container when it is connected to the holding member. Thereafter, a user may move a finger down into said hole in order to secure that the flexible container is held in a connected state to the holding member during the emptying of urine. An alternative means may comprise an elastic member or the like, which resiliently abuts the flexible container in a state connected to the holding member and thereby secures that it does not come loose. Preferably, the flexible container is manufactured of a thin film of a plastic material. Such a plastic bag has the advantages that it may be manufactured at a low cost and that it is completely liquid tight.
According to another preferred embodiment of present invention, the holding member comprises a handle. Thereby, the container device may be held steadily in an exactly correct position so that the urine during the emptying is guided down into the passage of the holding member and the risk that it lands outside the flexible container is negligible. Advantageously, the holding member comprises a portion, at an upper entrance of the passage of the holding member, which has a shape anatomically adapted for women in order to completely guarantee that the urine is guided down through the passage of the holding member. Said shape ought to be such that the holding member without problem may be used in both a sitting and a standing position. For men solely a bag without any holding member may be used or a holding member of a simpler shape may be used, which-consists of an essentially ring-shaped construction.